This is not an active blog anymore. But it does provide access to a 30-minute, monthly public access program that aired in Thurston County in Washington from January 2006 through December 2007. The show was produced for and by birders with help from the Black Hills Audubon Society and the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and was recognized by the Audubon Society for its contribution to birding.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Featherman Phil Kelley fills in for Birdwise host Tom Schooley (currently on assignment) for the September edition of Birdwise, Thurston County's video magazine on birds and birding. September's bird of the month is the cedar waxwing. Professor Burt Guttman discusses the two types of breeding strategies: birds who produce many precocial young capable of leaving the nest almost immediately and birds who produce fewer young but have to nurture them through a more dependent period. The show then covers the efforts that killdeer go through to protect their nest, including faking a broken wing (Filmed at Capital Lake Park). The September Birdwise also offers the usual news and calendar of events by Sheila McCartan. The show airs Sundays at 1 p.m. and Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 22. But you can watch it now (albeit in lower resolution) on Google Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--MbEdf-QLo

Tom on Marshmallows

Web videos

I apologize for the low resolution of the web version of Birdwise. I uploaded these original through Google video at a time when I barely knew what I was doing. I have since migrated the videos to YouTube. They don't attract many viewings but if you're interested in birding, they are a nice reference.